Got my punchy bass sound

[Diamond_Dave]

I record bass from time to time when I do covers of songs. I’ve never been satisfied with my bass tone—it’s boomy. You either dial it out altogether or have a big fat messy low end.

I watched a video where someone said that in their experience, boom was usually associated with 100 Hz. So I dropped down that frequency a few dB. I also changed my mic position—instead of mic’ing from about 18” away from the cone, I close mic’d directly in from of the cone.

The result? Nice punchy bass with no boom. I was really surprised, especially after walking away from it and coming back a few hours later, giving my ears a break.

The chain is jazz bass>TC Electronic Spectracomp>Rumble 200>Shure SM57>Presonus 68c>Studio One 6>ProEQ

Lots of variables obviously, but the EQ and mic placement were the only changes. Just thought I’d share.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

I record bass from time to time when I do covers of songs. I’ve never been satisfied with my bass tone—it’s boomy. You either dial it out altogether or have a big fat messy low end.

I watched a video where someone said that in their experience, boom was usually associated with 100 Hz. So I dropped down that frequency a few dB. I also changed my mic position—instead of mic’ing from about 18” away from the cone, I close mic’d directly in from of the cone.

The result? Nice punchy bass with no boom. I was really surprised, especially after walking away from it and coming back a few hours later, giving my ears a break.

The chain is jazz bass>TC Electronic Spectracomp>Rumble 200>Shure SM57>Presonus 68c>Studio One 6>ProEQ

Lots of variables obviously, but the EQ and mic placement were the only changes. Just thought I’d share.

Glad you found the recipe..Congrats.

 

[Lammchop93]

nice! Every room is different, so you'll start to learn what needs to be tweaked for each room.

 

[Salem6127]

Lighter strings did it for me. 30-90. Can bring in massive bass without being boomy, it's incredible.

 

[dreamadream99]

Nice punchy bass with no boom.

Glad you found the recipe.

Yeah, way to go. You have solved in one day, what most bass players chase for a lifetime.

 

[Code Brown]

I've found the same works for me. Sometimes I'll boost a bit at 40Hz for a really solid fundamentals on the E string. And sometimes if I want to scoop the mids I'll cut from 200Hz to 1kHz.

With my equipment in my bedroom...
40 - 50Hz: Fundamental
100 - 200Hz: Mud
200 - 1kHz: Mids
1 - 4Khz: Highs

 

[Lo-E]

EQ seems really straightforward but it actually takes a while to get the hang of it.

For years, most of my gigs are at venues with house backline, which means I often play through amps and cabs I’m not familiar with. More often than not, cutting bass a little and boosting low mids a little gets me a good starting place for dialing in a good tone. On a lot of amps the bass knob is really just a mud knob.

 

[Paul New]

Hmmm. Most of the time I boost low mids. 100-150 Hz

 

[Diamond_Dave]

Lighter strings did it for me. 30-90. Can bring in massive bass without being boomy, it's incredible.

That never occurred to me. I have Rotosound Swing Bass 66 Standards on there now, which get me more Geddy and less Jamerson, so it never dawned on me that these bright, obnoxious strings could be a source of the problem. Food for thought.

 

[Michedelic]

I record bass from time to time when I do covers of songs. I’ve never been satisfied with my bass tone—it’s boomy. You either dial it out altogether or have a big fat messy low end.

I watched a video where someone said that in their experience, boom was usually associated with 100 Hz. So I dropped down that frequency a few dB. I also changed my mic position—instead of mic’ing from about 18” away from the cone, I close mic’d directly in from of the cone.

The result? Nice punchy bass with no boom. I was really surprised, especially after walking away from it and coming back a few hours later, giving my ears a break.

The chain is jazz bass>TC Electronic Spectracomp>Rumble 200>Shure SM57>Presonus 68c>Studio One 6>ProEQ

Lots of variables obviously, but the EQ and mic placement were the only changes. Just thought I’d share.

So, you don’t take a direct signal as well and mix it in, or put that on another track to be manipulated/mixed later?

 

[-Stingray]

instead of mic’ing from about 18” away from the cone, I close mic’d directly in from of the cone.

I'm pretty sure this is what did it. Why on earth were you positioning the mic that far away?

 

[silky smoove]

Why on earth were you positioning the mic that far away?

Sometimes it's just the thing. I've done many sessions where I placed a mic on the bassist's cabinet 18" out, if not further into the room. It doesn't work on everything, but if it works there's no reason to discount it.

 

[-Stingray]

Sometimes it's just the thing. I've done many sessions where I placed a mic on the bassist's cabinet 18" out, if not further into the room. It doesn't work on everything, but if it works there's no reason to discount it.

I'll take your word for it.

I've seen room mics for recording, but they are generally coupled with close cab mics. If the OP was unhappy with the lack of punch, I think that would be the first place he would look.

/shrug

 

[silky smoove]

I've seen room mics for recording, but they are generally coupled with close cab mics.

A close mic and a room mic on a bass cab, for me as an engineer, would be a poor choice for many situations due to the potentially destructive phase relationship. A time-aligned DI paired with either a close mic or a room mic would be much more predictable. Still, as with anything, a close mic and a room mic might end up being just the thing for a given session.

If the OP was unhappy with the lack of punch, I think that would be the first place he would look.

It's certainly possible. It's art AND science, and the art part of that equation can lend itself to things that seem unconventional being just the ticket on a session.

 

[Stylee Mousse]

Backing off the mic allows some reflected sound in, meaning you hear the “room”. This can be good, bad or indifferent. It can sound more “warm”.

It can sound more like what you hear. No one puts their ear right up to a bass amp, snare or trumpet.

That recording also comes out of YOUR speaker and excites YOUR room so it can get messier.

I do whatever I want to hear in the track. For more floody vintage tones I’ll try a bit of distance

 

[Diamond_Dave]

So, you don't take a direct signal as well and mix it in, or put that on another track to be manipulated/mixed later?

No, I keep it simple. (DI is probably the simple solution, of course.) I just record for fun, and the bass track isn't the focus. The guitar tracks are. I know, heresy. But the bass track is often the most fun.

 

[Diamond_Dave]

I'm pretty sure this is what did it. Why on earth were you positioning the mic that far away?

I read it on the interwebs! And of course, all I was getting was cement floor and area rug, which is how I would describe the tone. Wet cement.